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It is assumed that monitoring according to standard protocols is sufficient to evaluate restoration effects in Dutch surface waters. Nevertheless, specific targeted monitoring improves the restoration knowledge base and offers possibilities to adjust measures if restoration targets are not met (adaptive monitoring). Innovative techniques are helpful in this case.

Many restoration measures have been conducted in regional water bodies to improve water quality and biodiversity, to be able to reach the required N2000 and WFD targets. Despite the high investments in these restoration measures, ecological improvements have so far been variable without a clear picture of the set of success factors.

The goal of this project is to develop a new framework for adaptive monitoring, which will enhance the knowledge about ecosystem functioning, and thereby improve the effectiveness of restoration measures.
The monitoring strategy will make use of existing and new labor-extensive and data-intensive techniques, such as sensors and dataloggers.

A tight collaboration with the land users, water and nature managers in existing and new case studies will not only allow us to develop a new framework for adaptive monitoring, but also create support and an opportunity to directly implement the findings in practice. This project proposal contributes to all six missions within the goals of the ministry of Agriculture, Water and Food, because knowledge is needed from different perspectives (e.g. circular agriculture, sustainable horticulture, urban areas, rural areas and large waters) to improve ecological water quality. This makes monitoring learning crucial in order to successfully improve the environmental quality.

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